To the Ends of the Earth
by someoneuprobablydontknow
Summary: What if, after Briseis and Paris left, the movie ended right there? What if we saw Achilles close his eyes but not fall over? Will the doomed lovers find each other again?...AB rating might change in later chapters RR!
1. Prologue

**A/N** This is my first story, Troy or otherwise, so please don't get mad if it's not that good!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Troy, but I wish I did. I might add some new characters later in the story; so then I'll have put in something!

Summary: What if, after Briseis and Paris left, the movie ended right there? What if we saw Achilles close his eyes but not fall over? Will the doomed lovers find each other again?…… AB

Chapter 1: Prologue

"_NO!" Achilles heard Briseis scream, and the next moment he felt extreme pain in his heel. He threw his head back in agony. Turning toward the source, he saw Paris, bow and arrow at the ready to shoot again. Achilles pushed Briseis aside so there wasn't a chance the deadly arrows would hit her. _

_More pain. More screaming. He yanked arrow after arrow out of his chest, and tried to get up with his sword, but soon he knew it was lost. He sunk to his knees, sticking the blade in to the ground. _

_He looked up. Briseis had run in front of him too late, and now she looked down at him in horror. She ran to him and kneeled in front of him, crying._

_Achilles took her face in his hands. "It's alright," He said, even though he felt the exact opposite. "It's alright." He paused. "You've given me peace… in a lifetime of war." A tear trickled down both their cheeks._

"_Briseis." Dimly he heard Paris._

"_Go." Achilles had to force it out, he wanted her to stay, stay with him, until he took his last breath. Briseis shook her head. He took hold of her in a hug._

"_Briseis, come… I know a way out." A way out! She could be saved!_

"_Go!" He said urgently. She continued crying. They shared a kiss, savoring each other one last time. It was slow, sweet, and sad. Time seemed to freeze. Then Achilles gently pushed her away, to her cousin. "Go," He whispered. Paris pulled her away, and they hurried in the direction of the under rooms. Briseis was still sobbing and kept looking back at him. It broke his heart._

_Alone now, Achilles sighed, more tears coming out of his eyes. Briseis had been all he had left, and now she was snatched away from him. He didn't blame Paris at for wanting to kill him. After all, he had taken Hector away from him. Not only Paris, but a wife and son as well. If he could have made it right, Achilles would have gone to the end of the world, if it meant seeing Briseis again._

_The pain was too great… His mother had been right: Troy was his doom, Paris was his doom, war was his doom… Briseis was his doom. But he loved her._

'_That doesn't seem to matter to the gods much,' Achilles thought glumly. The world was beginning to darken… _

**A/N** What do you think? It might start out like a lot of people's but it'll change I promise. This has been chasing around my head for ages, so I'll still write it out. And, if you must flame, don't be too mean!

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	2. Heartbreak is the Worst

* * *

To the Ends of the Earth 

**A/N **Wow, three reviews! I am so proud of myself. (And I'm not being sarcastic) I'm actually surprised that many people reviewed. It was kinda short… Anyway, this'll be longer.

Chapter 2: Heartbreak is the Worst

She had never felt pain this great. It was worse than any physical wound she'd ever received. A broken heart was by far the most terrible thing for a person. Right now, Briseis could not see any reason to live anymore. Her mind was blank except for one thing: Achilles was dead.

'Apollo, why must you be so cruel?' She thought desperately.

She was moving along, clinging to Paris, in an almost dreamlike state, her body still racked with sobs. Briseis felt the tears falling down her face, thinking what he would have done he was here.

'He would have wiped my tears away, held me in his arms, telling me everything would be alright,' Briseis thought wretchedly. 'Oh Achilles…'

This was all Paris' fault! Why didn't he listen to her? Didn't he have any idea how much Achilles could have helped them? The best warrior of all time, helping the Trojans? They could've taken the city back.

'And my heart might not be broken beyond repair!' She screamed in her mind. She and Paris had reached the tunnel leading out of the city, and suddenly Briseis was feeling strong. And furious.

"You fool!" She slapped Paris with all her might, breaking away from him. "How could you have done that?" Paris was rubbing his cheek.

"He killed my brother, and your cousin, Briseis!"

"He gave Hector back, did he not? Has Uncle Priam not told you that he cried at your brother's corpse? How he gave us the funeral time?" More tears slipped out of Briseis' eyes. "He regretted it Paris! He was avenging his cousin Patroclus!"

"Regardless, he left a wife without a husband and a child without a father. Me, without a brother! And," Paris paused. "You, without a cousin."

Briseis could see the truth in his words, but chose to ignore them. "How do you know he didn't have people waiting for him back in Greece? They don't even get to give him a proper burial. The Greek army will have to do it."

Paris shrugged. "I can't see how people would like him. He was a mindless killing machine."

That was too much for Briseis. She stopped walking all together, and shrieked at Paris, "HE WAS A PERSON, A CARING PERSON, WITH A MIND, AND I LOVED HIM!" She sank to the floor, crying like there was no tomorrow. Paris stayed back, staring open mouthed at her.

"You were in love with Achilles? The man who has murdered countless people?" He stepped back. "What happened Briseis? What did he do to you?"

Briseis looked up. "He freed me Paris. I was trapped, trapped in the city walls, trapped by Apollo, unable to fly. He helped me spread me wings. I'm free."

Paris simply stood there. Briseis frowned at him.

"You, of all people, Paris, should know about love! At least my affections have not brought about the fall of Troy!" She had hit a soft spot. Paris sighed.

"Well, cousin, since everybody stood behind me and supported me in this, I forgive you." But Briseis shook her head.

"You say it like I should be ashamed of my love, but that is the one thing that I am sure I will never do. Achilles was the best thing that had ever happened to me." She stood up and looked him straight in the eye. "I do not ask for forgiveness, cousin, but acceptance."

And she left her beloved city, where she had grown up, and also the one man she would ever love. The one man she thought she would never see again. But little did she know that on Mount Olympus, a great battle was raging forth, between the goddess of love Aphrodite, and the sun god Apollo.

* * *

"Look at her, she is as good as dead!"

Aphrodite had zoomed to Zeus' palace in a towering rage. Never had she seen such a beautiful love ripped apart.

Meanwhile, Apollo was there too, arguing with her and appealing to Zeus that this was nonsense.

"Well, then send Hermes to pick her up as she sleeps," he said in response to Aphrodite's statement. "She abandoned her priesthood and virginity for a man who befouled my temple!"

"But as the mortals would say, it was the will of the gods!" Aphrodite said hysterically. Apollo laughed.

"Ha! That was you! You were just up to your usual tricks."

"And look! It produced the most stunning romance I have ever seen. Eros didn't even have to help them out!"

"Father!" Apollo turned to Zeus, who had been watching the scene with amusement. "Father, you don't seriously believe this do you? This man Achilles even insulted you!"

"Zeus." Aphrodite did not use her charms. "Think about it. Aren't you friends with the sea nymph Thetis, his mother? Think of how you would make her so happy to make her son live. Just stop Hermes now, and I'll do the rest."

Zeus looked thoughtful. Apollo was now starting to give off heat.

"I will not stand for this!"

"Think about it," Aphrodite said. "If we got Achilles on the Trojan's side, you could have your city back." Apollo stopped. He hadn't thought about that.

"Well…"

"Zeus?" Aphrodite said. The god sighed.

"Very well, I will send word for Hermes to not bring Achilles to the Underworld, but Hades is going to be down my throat."

"I will take care of Hades," Aphrodite said confidently. Apollo looked at her.

"You're sure you know what you're doing?"

"Are you trying to insult me, Apollo?" She accused. "It's me, I've handled worse."

"I'm not so sure about that," muttered Zeus. He had a feeling things were going to turn nasty.

**A/N** Hey look, another chapter. Hang on; there is some really weird person on the radio. You know, you can just call in, and this person sounds kinda, you know, "touched in the head". Anyway, thanks for all three reviews, they all said it was good. Maybe there'll be more after a more interesting chapter. Oh gosh, the radio is acting very embarrassing indeed. The ad just said to always use a condemn. I hope everyone knows to do that. (I wouldn't know much though. I'm only 13) R+R!


	3. The Awakening and a Slight Problem

**To the Ends of the Earth**

**A/N** Just to let everyone know, this isn't going to be a short story. (Or so I'm planning) Achilles _will_ live and everything, but it's not like he can just find Briseis in a second, and they run off all happy and everyone's okay with it. I won't give away the whole plot, but there's going to be a lot of things in the way. But keep reading! There hasn't been a lot reviews, but I'm still going. (Although they are very much appreciated and thanks to the people who have reviewed)

Chapter 3: The Awakening and a Slight Problem

Achilles was drifting in a sea of darkness, the gentle tide carrying him along in no particular direction. The pain had vanished, and his mind was blank. Sometimes he thought he saw faces and shapes mold themselves around him, but they always disappeared whenever he tried to get a better look.

After a while, his brain started to come alive again. Where was Hermes, coming to lead him to cross the River Styx? Was he actually in the river, doomed to float along ever more, never to even step foot in to Hades' Realm? Had he done that much evil in the world?

He had no idea how much time was passing. Had it been years since he'd died? Were they rebuilding Troy as a Greek city? Odysseus had probably been put in command since Briseis had killed Agamemnon. Briseis… What was she doing? Was she remembering him? Had she found another? Achilles' stomach lurched painfully at the thought.

But the pain in his stomach didn't go away. It started throbbing actually. So did his ankle.

'Nice,' Achilles thought sarcastically. As the pain got worse, the invisible water he was in started to get rougher. It was still pitch black. He couldn't move. He simply went along with the current, trying to decipher where he was going.

Then came the waves. Or was it waves of pain? One after the other, they engulfed him. Sometimes he couldn't breathe. Or was that his imagination?

'I thought death was supposed to be painless,' Achilles gritted his teeth at a particularly severe stab of pain. The water was becoming even choppier though his head never seemed to go under.

It was so rough… Achilles couldn't move a muscle. He was being tossed around, but staying still at the same time. It was coming to the point where he couldn't think properly with all the pain and movement.

'Zeus dammit, HELP ME!'

Suddenly, there was a bright light. Not a gentle one either. He still couldn't see anything. But he was becoming aware of no more water, and that he was on a soft surface. The light faded, and Achilles opened eyes he didn't know he had closed.

He still couldn't see well after all his time in darkness, and he squinted, trying to figure out where he was. When a smiling Odysseus swam in to view he had to close his eyes and open them again several times before he believed what he was seeing.

"About time you woke up," Odysseus said. "Every body has been calling from overseas, wondering if the rumor were true, that the great Achilles was dead."

"But I am, aren't I?" asked Achilles.

"You are very much alive, my friend," said the king. "But just barely. I've never seen anyone pull through with four arrow wounds to the chest and one to a particularly sensitive tendon in the ankle. It's been named after you, you know. The Achilles tendon."

The warrior sat there, stunned. He wasn't dead? But those wounds had been fatal, he knew it. If they weren't… they _weren't_… Briseis…

"Am I still in Troy?" Achilles praying deeply that he was.

"Yes, we couldn't move you while you were in that state." Odysseus grimaced. "You couldn't have picked a worse time to get mortally wounded. We've been having a lot of trouble with prisoners."

Achilles' stomach suddenly tightened. Prisoners? Were they hurting them? What if Briseis… no, he had seen her escape… Or what if she and Paris had been found?

These worries chased around his mind, but he kept his face calm and asked, "Prisoners from Troy? What've they been doing?"

"Oh, the usual things… Picking fights, being unreasonable, shouting insults… Most of the soldiers just want to go home, see their families."

"Did anyone escape?" Please let her be safe…

"Well, we have no real good count, but I'm sure about fifty to a hundred people got away, although we have no idea how. And it's just our luck the last of the royal family was with them."

So Briseis had gotten away. Achilles took a deep breath and tried not to let Odysseus see his relief. He swiftly changed the subject.

"You're in charge then?"

"Well, there isn't a 'King of Kings' anymore, but out of the Kings, they seem to think I'm the best to generally supervise things here. Some countries have gone home already."

"Are you expecting me to?"

Odysseus raised his eyebrows. "I don't think you could leave all the excitement…" Achilles laughed. The king was playing his mind tricks on him, but he needn't have bothered. Achilles wouldn't have left Troy while Briseis was somewhere nearby for all the riches in the world.

"How much time has passed since Troy fell?" If he could just find the trail of the survivors…

"Oh, I'd say about three months, and then it's going to take even longer for you to heal properly." Odysseus looked sympathetic. "I don't think that ankle will support you for a while."

Three months? Then even longer? Achilles fell back on his pillows, dismayed. He'd never be able to find them. They could reach _Thebes_ in that time. King Eeton would take them in, and then he'd have no chance. He didn't even know what direction Paris had led them.

'Maybe we never were supposed to be together,' he thought dully. 'The gods seem to be doing everything they can to keep us apart.'

How very wrong he was.

* * *

Eros was worried about his mother, Aphrodite. She had never been this focused a couple before. They were only _mortals_, after all.

"Oh, Eros, you have much to learn," Aphrodite had told him exasperatedly. "I supposed it's because you're male. They can never understand the beauty of these things."

"Mother, you're fighting a losing battle. This mortal man can't heal I time for him to catch up to them before they reach Thebes."

"I'm working on it, dear son. You forget my power. I'm putting so many obstacles in the way they won't know what hit them."

Eros stilled looked unconvinced.

"Never mind boy, go shoot some handsome man into falling in love with a rock or something. And don't worry about me, I've got everything planned out."

Aphrodite didn't count on Eris.

Normally Eris just stayed with Ares, causing wars for him to fight in, but when she heard about Aphrodite's latest project, she got an idea, one that would cause the most trouble since the Trojan War.

**A/N** Dundundun… Well, not really, but you get the picture. Please review!


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